Macworld.Ars: Cruising the South Hall

A few photos and obscure commentary, from the Apple Pavilion to the nth iPod …

Ever wonder what it's like to have a media badge at Macworld Expo? From my observations, it seems to mostly be about sitting in the media room talking with other media types and surfing the Web. You get lunch, too. This year, they handed out bento boxes one day (courtesy of FileMaker and Bento), sandwiches another day (courtesy of your high school cafeteria—just terrible), and a $20 voucher I shared with my wife one day. That gets you two little pizzas and two drinks at the stomach-gouging prices in Moscone Center. Besides eating and surfing the Web, I walked around and took a few pictures.

Light as air—we get it, already.

Unlike last year, when Macworld had no Macs or Mac software, this year at least had the MacBook Air. Even on Friday, you had trouble getting Air time, the crowd was so thick with people wanting to touch one, and the touchpad was the biggest draw. I've never seen so many people thrilled by rotating a picture, myself included. The MacBook Air made the show this year.

Apple TV makes a comeback. Maybe.

The MacBook Air was so popular that the Apple TV kind of got lost on the expo floor. People were checking it out, though. I spent about five minutes badgering reps till I found one that amused me.

Jade: Steve said the Apple TV 1.0 was about sharing music and pictures and stuff, right? Apple: That's right. Jade: And Apple TV 2.0 is all about movies and television shows, right? Apple: Exactly. Jade: So why was the first one called Apple TV? Apple: (pauses) You'd have to ask him. Jade: In my wet dreams.

You still can't control the volume with a remote that has volume control symbols (+/-), but I can't not declare it not a failure. Yet.

The banners are always nice too see at Macworld Expo. It let's Apple fans know what they are to think for the coming year.

Looking at this banner costs $20

The banner you should have seen last year.

Besides pictures of the Apple Pavilion, there were a few other sites on the exhibit floor worth gawking at.

Best Buy selling from off the back of a truck.

It's annoying to see Apple working so hard to get into a store that practically does a cavity search when you try to leave with your purchase. Still, it's better than mini-stores in the now-defunct CompUSA. Their booth was really, really loud. It makes you feel sorry for small exhibitors that pay big bucks to get stuck next to a couple of thousand-watt speakers.

Still not evil.

Google was polite enough not to show up with Androids, though it would have been really cool if they had replicants like in Blade Runner. They could have done a demo using Google and Windows.Live to search for ways to extend their life expectancies, and when Windows.Live failed, the androids could have gouged out the eyes of the Windows developers. The booth was packed with demos of Sky, Warp, and stuff that Jacqui was supposed to cover, but it wouldn't have mattered what Google did. Everyone loves Google.

Decor by Microsoft Bob.

Speaking of evil, or trying too hard to be liked, or both, Microsoft set up a blogger lounge in addition to their booth. They were very nice and utterly unhelpful about the fact that their wireless didn't work early on Tuesday when I was desperately trying to get my article about the MacBook Air up, even as Clint undercut my brilliant satire by posting a vapid post with just pictures. Thanks, Microsoft, for screwing me yet again. By the way, I lied about the chairs when I said they were comfortable. They weren't fit to be thrown by a CEO, let alone sat in.

Best booth design on the cheap

This was a highly detailed cardboard display, like a castle maze. They sold bags in it. The bags with that little squiggly character on it. It's not my job to advertise for vendors, just to point out the cool.

Best product the company should definitely not send me for free.

I wrote about GelaSkins last year. They are made out of some kind of magic vinyl, and after a year on my wife's iPod Nano, the skin still looks great. The company was back this year with a bigger booth and more product. GelaSkins now makes skins for the iPhone, as seen above, as well as laptops. I asked them about skinning the MacBook Air. The rep said he went to the Apple Pavilion and tried to put one on, but they threw him to the ground and tasered him. That's not true. They told him to come back after the show closed that day, so he did. The MacBook skins fit great. I suggested that since the MacBook Air did away with the inconvenience of a modular battery that Gelaksins be made for the bottom too. The rep looked thoughtful, so I told him that Robo would look great on the front and back of my MacBook Air, then I winked and walked off.

Best booth display that was not a young woman in short skirt.

Rogue Amoeba didn't really have anything new to announce, or someone who isn't anti-social is covering them. But the inflatable, six-foot amoeba is worthy of a picture.

Car or iPod recharger, you be the judge.

Something worthy of a picture and commentary comes from ZAP. They make tiny, little electric cars that might be okay in European cities with thousand-year-old, narrow streets, but would be crushed by SUVs on America's roads. For $11,500, the Xebra will take you about 40 miles a day at up to 40 miles per hour. More importantly, they make one that hooks your iPod in to the car speakers. They also had an iZap thing for charging the iPod Classic.

Gray hair is the new Graybeard.

I have no idea what this guy was doing, but the last picture is always supposed to be some guy either in costume, or whose life is a costume. So much for the South Hall, onto the West Hall.